2013: Canadian Grand Prix track worker dies after being run over by crane

The Gazette06.08.2013

Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez's car is hoisted by workers after he crashed during the Formula one Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal Sunday June 9, 2013. A track worker was run over by the crane during this operation.

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MONTREAL — A 38-year-old track worker at the Canadian Grand Prix was pronounced dead at Sacré-Coeur Hospital Sunday evening after he was accidentally run over by a mobile crane near the end of the race.

The worker, a 10-year veteran, was one of two men who was escorting the crane that was hoisting a Sauber car that had just hit the wall in Turn 2.

The Sauber car had been driven by Esteban Gutierrez, who was unharmed.

The fatal accident occurred after the worker stumbled as he was picking up a radio that dropped to the ground. The operator of the crane didn’t see him fall and continued driving, said François Dumontier, president and CEO of Octane Management and president of the Canadian Grand Prix.

“It’s deplorable; it’s a tragic end to what was a great weekend,” Dumontier said, adding he did not know the worker personally.

Formula One’s ruling body, the Fédération internationale de l’automobile, issued a statement at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, which Dumontier read out to the assembled journalists:

“The FIA is sad to announce the death of a Formula One Grand Prix du Canada circuit worker, at 6:02 p.m.

“The worker, a member of the Automobile Club de l’Île Notre Dame, was the victim of an unfortunate accident that occurred at the end of this afternoon’s Formula One Grand Prix du Canada.

“The worker was helping to recover a car which had stopped during the race. The recovery vehicle had lifted the car to return it to the pits and while doing this the worker dropped his radio and attempted to pick it up. As he did this, he stumbled and was hit and run over by the recovery vehicle.

“The worker was transported via helicopter to Sacré-Coeur Hospital where he was treated by the traumatology department of Dr. Ronald Denis, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, and Dr. Jacques Bouchard, Chief Medical Officer of the Grand Prix. Unfortunately, the worker succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

“The FIA, l’Automobile Club de l’Île Notre-Dame and the Formula One Grand Prix du Canada want to communicate their deepest condolences to the family and friends of the victim. The identity of the worker cannot be revealed at this time.”

A doctor who happened to be near the crane ran to the scene within 30 seconds. The man was conscious at first, but his condition deteriorated quickly, Bouchard said.

The man was rushed by ambulance to the medical centre at the raceway, where he was stabilized by a team of doctors and nurses. He was given oxygen.

The man was then transported by helicopter to Sacré-Coeur, a designated trauma centre, where a team of specialists was already in place waiting for him.

“A giant wheel went over his body, so there are fractures,” Bouchard explained shortly after the accident.

Doctors were planning to operate on the man at Sacré-Coeur, but never got to that stage.

“Unfortunately, the doctors in the trauma room noticed immediately that he had died,” said Josée-Michelle Simard, a Sacré-Coeur spokesperson.

The hospital released a statement Sunday night saying the man’s family wished that his identity not be made public. The statement said that he was a volunteer worker at the Grand Prix.

The man is the third Grand Prix track worker to have been killed since 2000, according to Autosport, an authority on Formula One news.

At the Italian Grand Prix in 2000, track marshall Paolo Ghislimberti died after being struck by a wheel that flew over the barriers after an opening lap crash.

The following season at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix, Graham Beveridge was killed when he was struck by a wheel that had flown through a gap in the safety fencing in a collision between Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher.

Dave Stubbs, Walter Buchignani and Aaron Derfel of The Gazette contributed to this report.

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2013: Canadian Grand Prix track worker dies after being run over by crane